The browser is the source
Grower obtains captured web content through the automated browser session. The Newdn process does not re-fetch pages through a separate HTTP client to build the archive.
This keeps cookies, browser behavior, and the response actually seen by the browser in the same capture path.
Replay is local
Player serves captured resources from the local archive back into the browser. A hosted TDF service is not required. Missing or intentionally uncaptured resources can still affect fidelity.
Archive integrity
- Response bodies are hashed for deduplication.
- Saves use a consistent SQLite snapshot and atomic replacement path.
- Archives can be encrypted with AES-256-GCM.
- Archives can carry an Ed25519 signature over a canonical manifest.
- Player rejects malformed TDF headers and reports archive-open failures.
Signing and encryption are opt-in. A signature establishes consistency with its included public key; independently trusted curator identity requires a separate trust process.
Release trust
Stable releases are built for macOS, Windows, and Linux, smoke-tested in the release workflow, published with SHA-256 checksums, and mirrored in a public GitHub releases repository.
Signing and notarization steps are conditional on configured release credentials. Before describing any specific artifact as signed, verify the artifact itself and the corresponding workflow run.
What TDF does not promise
- Perfect reproduction of every site or browser feature.
- Standards-based institutional preservation interoperability.
- Automatic removal of every secret or personal identifier.
- Legal admissibility, evidentiary chain of custody, or regulatory compliance.
- Continued execution of live APIs or content that was not captured.
For high-stakes preservation, validate the archive independently and keep original source records alongside the TDF.